How Jeff Suppan (Actually) Threw the Ball

One reason why the myths about throwing and pitching persist is due to a lack of understanding;
by people's not understanding what pitchers'
arms actually
do when they throw a pitch.

Jeff Suppan

As a result, I have put this piece together to explain what a high-level thrower's arm
(actually) does when they throw the ball.

Frame 132

Frame 140

Frame 150

Frame 160

Frame 170

While Jeff Suppan does scap load, like Nolan Ryan, Greg
Maddux, Randy Johnson, and other durable pitchers, his elbows
never get higher than the level of his shoulders. His scap load
also doesn't cause his pitching arm to stall on its way up to
the high-cocked position and it doesn't affect his timing.
Instead, his arm swing is smooth and his arm gets up on time.

Frame 171

Frame 172

Frame 173

Frame 174

Frame 175

Frame 176

Frame 177

Frame 178

Frame 179

In Frame 179, Jeff Suppan’s Glove Side foot has just planted and his shoulders
are just starting to rotate. Notice how his Pitching Arm Side elbow is just below the level
of his shoulders and how he is showing the ball to Third Base, not Center Field.

Frame 180

Frame 181

The rotation of Jeff Suppan's shoulders has caused his
Pitching Arm Side upper arm to start externally rotating and his
PAS forearm to start laying back toward First Base.

Frame 182

Frame 183

Frame 184

Frame 185

Frame 186

Frame 187

Frame 188

Because the topic of arm action is both important and
frequently misunderstood, let's take a closer look at what Jeff
Suppan's arm (actually) does when he throws the ball.

The most important thing to notice is that, while Jeff
Suppan's pitching arm side elbow stays bent roughly 90 degrees
up until a couple of frames before the release point, his
throwing arm doesn't stay vertical as his shoulders rotate.

Instead, Jeff Suppan's forearm lays back toward first base as
his shoulders and his elbow rotate around toward the target.FB

Arm Action

While seemingly trivial, this is actually important because
it points out the gigantic mechanical and logical hole in the
justification for the cue to show the ball to center field that
I discuss in my piece,
Pitching MRSA
and drills that supposedly help throwers get on top of the
ball...

If the arm doesn't do what the proponents of showing the ball
to center field say it does, then their absolutes aren't.

For More Information

There are other problems, going up to the highest levels with
peoples' understanding of the throwing and pitching motion. I
discuss these problems in my piece that lays out a
Revised Baseball Pitching Cycle.

Notes

FB. The arms of football quarterbacks do
the same thing, which means that the "tuck rule" that is used to
determine whether a quarterback is in the act of throwing the
ball isn't correct. The throw starts when the throwing arm side
elbow starts to rotate around toward the target, not when the
hand starts to move forward.

Please Support This Project

In order to ensure that the information contained in The Epidemic is available to everyone who needs it, much of the information in The Epidemic is available for free. However, researching pitching and hitting is the only thing I do for a living, so the most important and valuable content is only available to those who have purchased access to The Epidemic or to my Power/Advanced Pitching clients.